Only 12% or organizations are likely to detect a sophisticated cyber attack

Organizations believe that today’s cyber threat landscape places them at high risk of cyber attacks. The EY survey of nearly 1,200 C-level leaders of the world’s largest and most recognized organizations examines some of the most urgent concerns about cybersecurity and their efforts to manage them.

Findings show that 56% of those surveyed are making or planning to make changes to their strategies and plans due to the increased impact of cyber threats, risks and vulnerabilities. The rapid acceleration of connectivity within their global organizations – fueled by the growth of Internet of Things (IoT) – has introduced new vulnerabilities for increasingly sophisticated cyber attackers to exploit.

The report reveals that common attacks – cyber attacks carried out by unsophisticated, individual attackers – successfully exploited vulnerabilities that organizations were aware of, which indicates a lack of rigor in implementing standard security procedures.

“The most successful recent cyber attacks employed common methods that leveraged known vulnerabilities of organizations. Also, the increasing hyper-connectivity and waves of new technology, while creating huge opportunities, introduces new risks and vulnerabilities across the organization. Therefore, as organizations transform into the digital age, they must examine their digital ecosystem from every angle to protect their businesses today, tomorrow and far into the future,” said Paul van Kessel, EY Global Advisory Cybersecurity Leader.

Cybersecurity spending

Findings reveal that most organizations continue to increase their spending on cybersecurity, with more than 90% of respondents saying they expect higher budgets this year. With mounting cyber threats demanding a more robust response, 87% say that they require up to 50% more funding. However, only 12% expect to receive an increase of more than 25% this year.